Subwoofer location - a storage bin area on left side of trunk

Cutting out templates

Laminated particle board stack, with internal cavity cut out

Top and bottom added

Lugging the assembly to the car for a test fitting

Upholstering the subwoofer enclosure with carpeting

Subwoofer finished, installed, and thumping!

In June 2012, my wife Carolyn took off on a horsepacking trip with one grandson. Presto, a great opportunity for some bonding between me and our other grandson, Ryan. He had recently started driving, and wanted to install a subwoofer in his car, presumably so he could damage his hearing like all the other kids. Now with my medical background, I could have focused on the hearing risks of :boom cars”. But recalling my own youthful experiments in car audio (which is another story) I decided to be a buddy and we took on the project together.

His Audi A4 sedan had a hollow area in the left trunk area. It was irregular, so I showed him how to create a cardboard template of the shape. We glued up many layers of 3/4″ particle board, then bandsawed a shape to fit, and hollowed it out leaving a 1″ wall thickness. After gluing on a top and bottom, and a framed box to mount the speaker, the whole thing was covered in carpet, and a wood grille was added to the front for protection. Finally I helped him tap into the car’s power and speaker lines, wiring everything up with a subwoofer amplifier.

Like a good grandpa, I cautioned him about turning it up to far. As he drove away, I’m pretty sure he cranked it up to the max as soon as he exited the driveway.